


for what's left of me

by delimeful



Series: October 2019 Prompts [7]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abduction, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Aliens, Captivity, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Language Barrier, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Space Australians - Freeform, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-27 03:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21385423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delimeful/pseuds/delimeful
Summary: Stuck in a cell for longer than he could remember, Virgil is surprised to get an impromptu roommate in the form of a small, feathery alien who is absolutely terrified of him.-Patton & Virgil's first meeting in WIBAR from Virgil's perspective.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: October 2019 Prompts [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533644
Comments: 31
Kudos: 723





	for what's left of me

When the smugglers opened the door and threw something in, rather than take him out, Virgil was understandably wary. 

That sense of unease only increased as he realized it was another alien, and he shifted into a crouch as it scrabbled at the door desperately. He’d been fed recently, so they hadn’t forgotten he was in here. What was the idea, putting another creature in his cell? Was it a survival of the fittest sort of situation? 

He tensed further when the alien turned, but it only pressed itself against the wall, dark eyes wide and antennae flattened like an agitated cat’s ears. It didn’t move, watching him intently but so still Virgil could barely see it breathing. It clearly didn’t want to fight him head-on. 

He sighed in relief, hunkering back slightly. The alien remained frozen for a long while, and then slowly sunk to the ground bit by bit. Virgil didn’t move, unwilling to accidentally scare the little thing, but he didn’t sleep either. Just because it wasn’t attacking directly didn’t mean that it wasn’t going to try and kill him through less straightforward means. 

He knew what other aliens thought of humans, after all.

Still, regardless of potential nefarious intentions, this one was clearly worse for wear. It- wait, that was rude- _They_ were clearly another victim of the smugglers, bruised and exhausted and terrified in a way Virgil was intimately familiar with. It didn’t take long before they were drooping, and then snoring quietly from their hunched over spot in front of the door. Virgil let himself relax just a little bit. 

The alien’s slumber lasted for as long as it took the next meal to be shuttled in, and Virgil watched as the tray fell directly on top of the alien, making their antennae jump and fluff out. They slowly looked up at him, letting out a shrill clicking sound, and Virgil tilted his head curiously. He sounded the click out in his own mouth, and then blinked. 

Oh! This was an Ampen. He almost hadn’t realized, with how little feathers the little guy had. He felt a surge of empathy. The smugglers had taken things from him, too. 

The Ampen delicately set the tray on the ground and pushed it towards him, chirping softly in that bird-like language before scooting themself back towards the farthest corner. Grateful that they weren’t going to fight over food, Virgil swiftly tore into the food pack and devoured his half of the bland rations. 

It didn’t seem like they were going to provide more rations for the Ampen, so he slid the tray back in their direction, mimicking their earlier chirps in hopes it would convey his meaning. 

They stared at him long enough that he was certain he’d messed up, accidentally cursed them out or something, but after he returned to his corner of the cell he turned to see them picking at the food. Oh. Nice. 

Maybe this roommate thing would work out after all.

-

It was a while before he heard the distinct steps of the smugglers approaching his cell, and so he’d had plenty of time to plan what he would do about the new addition. 

It was clear with every meal that whoever had decided to throw the Ampen in here had assumed that Virgil, as a ‘bloodthirsty human’, would murder the little alien, getting rid of the problem for them. That meant that if he didn’t want the smugglers to take his little cellmate away to be killed, he had to hide them. 

Luckily, he still had his hoodie. It was a comfort item, but if it meant saving the Ampen, he could stand to give it up for a while. 

Unluckily, he’d forgotten that he had no way to reliably communicate with the Ampen, and even less way to make them trust him enough to listen to his plan. He glanced between the sleeping alien and the door a few times, and then threw his hands up and hurried over to the alien, tossing his hoodie over them. 

Immediately, the Ampen was thrashing and fighting, which was understandable but very not helpful at this moment, particularly because the guards would see the moving hoodie from a mile away. His latent instincts from working as an assistant at a veterinary hospital kicked in, and he carefully pressed the Ampen down, squishing them the way one would an unruly cat. He waited a few moments, immensely stressed, and then sighed in relief when the alien went mostly still. 

Carefully, he slid the bundle of hoodie and Ampen across the floor to the darker corner of the cell, and jumped away to stand just in time for the guards to burst in with their typical terrible hospitality. He wasn’t quick enough to jump away from the tranquilizer the nearest one smacked onto him, and as he fell to his knees his last coherent thought was a hope that the little creature would remain undetected. 

-

One haze of pain and restraints later, he found the numbing effects of the tranq wearing off just in time to be thrown to the ground, agitating the multiple injuries he’d gained. He groaned, curling in on himself slightly when the door slammed shut with a harsh noise, and blinked a few times. Was something moving- oh. His cellmate. 

The Ampen was close now, dangerously so, and his lip curled up in a half-hearted warning grimace. He was too tired to sustain it for long, though, and wouldn’t it be funny if the guards came back and found their precious human harvest had been killed by an Ampen the size of his arm? Funnier than slowly wasting away in this cell, at least. 

He sighed, letting his head roll back and his eyes flutter closed, ignoring the part of him screaming about his exposed neck. He was tired. If they were going to try and kill him, that was their problem, not his. 

Still, he couldn’t help but flinch slightly when there was a sudden touch on his arms, and he rolled his head to the side, squinting at what he realized was his hoodie, now draped over him like an undersized blanket. 

He barely had the strength to look over at the Ampen, who was curling up back in their customary spot in the corner. His lips twitched up slightly as his eyes closed again, finally succumbing to his weariness. 

An alien showing kindness to a human. Who would have thought? 


End file.
